A worker was killed when a parking lot partially collapsed in Boston on March 26, officials said.
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A Boston construction worker was killed on Saturday March 26 when a parking lot he was helping demolish partially collapsed in Massachusetts, officials told media.
The collapse was reported around 5:40 p.m. in the Government Center parking lot, Boston Fire Marshal Jack Dempsey said in a press conference taped by CBS News. First responders arrived to find a worker, who has not been publicly identified, at the bottom of the structure after a “substantial fall”. He was declared dead.
Dempsey said the collapse happened while the garage was being demolished. All other workers are counted.
A person who witnessed the collapse was taken to hospital, CNN reported, but their condition was not available.
The cause of the collapse remains under investigation. But Kelley McCormick of the Boston Police Department said at the press conference that it appears the worker was in a small crane when it fell about nine stories during the collapse.
Officials said the worker’s body will not be recovered until engineers determine the structure is stable, CNN reported.
“We’re not going to put anybody in there until it’s safe to do so,” Dempsey said, according to CNN.
The streets around the garage were closed on the evening of March 26, the Boston Globe reported.
The Boston Fire Department told McClatchy News on Sunday, March 27 that no further information about the collapse was available and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, was investigating.
OSHA did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News.
John Moriarty & Associates, the company overseeing the demolition of the garage, said in a statement to The Boston Globe that its “deepest thoughts and condolences go out to the loved ones of the worker who lost his life.”
“Structural engineers will ensure the site is safe and secure before work resumes,” the company said.
The company told NBC Boston that it “remains committed to providing a safe and healthy workplace for all of our employees and business partners.”
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu called the incident a “horrible tragedy”, according to NBC Boston.
“My heart goes out to the worker’s family and loved ones,” Wu said, according to CNN. “The city will work to do whatever it takes to figure out what happened here.”
